"Think about it. As consumers, we didn’t loudly voice our desire for AI or NLP. But that didn’t stop Apple from delivering Siri on an iPhone. Pretty soon Microsoft delivered Cortana on Windows 10; Google delivered Google Now; Amazon delivered Alexa and now Bixby is on your (newer) Samsung Galaxy. We see these digital technologies being absorbed into the manufacturing landscape in much the same way, as long as solution providers like Plex and DATTUS continue to innovate and push them into the mainstream."

WhatsApp has added a much-requested new feature after it began to allow users to make group voice and video calls.
It’s been just over three years since the company, which is owned by Facebook, introduced voice calls and later a video option one year later. Today, WhatsApp counts over 1.5 billion monthly users and it says they make over two billion minutes of calls via its service each day.

In contrast to a decade ago, most people now say they need and expect a constant internet connection, wherever they go. Two-thirds of adults (64%) say the internet is an essential part of their life. One in five adults (19%) say they spend more than 40 hours a week online, an increase from 5% just over ten years ago. For the first time this year, women spend more time online than men.

Over the last decade, better access to the internet has transformed how we interact with each other. Two-fifths of people (41%) say being online enables them to work more flexibly, and three-quarters (74%) say it keeps them close to friends and family.

Today, at our second Google for Nigeria event, we announced more products and programs to help more people in Nigeria and across Africa benefit from the opportunities the web has to offer.
Google Station: high-quality Wi-Fi hotspots across Nigeria
Access to the internet in Africa is growing but it’s still limited. Only 35 percent of Africans have access to the web, compared to 48 percent in Asia, 67 in Latin America, 85 in Europe and 95 in North America. Many internet users in Africa don’t have Wi-Fi in their homes, relying instead on the few public Wi-Fi hotspots to connect, communicate and learn.

For many consumers across Sub-Saharan Africa, the mobile phone is not just a communication device but also the primary channel to get online, as well as a vital tool to access various life-enhancing services. Mobile adoption in the region has grown rapidly in recent years: overall subscriber penetration reached 44% in 2017, up from just 25% at the start of this decade. Access to mobile connectivity is vital to empowering consumers and driving economic growth. The technology enhances access to many essential services, including education, health and utilities, while also enabling business models that support the efficient and sustainable delivery of key services through mobile-based platforms such as mobile money and cellular IoT.

According to Dataxis research, the total Mobile SIM market in Europe is becoming saturated, the subscriber growth is mostly due to rapid adoption of 4G and M2M.
At the end of 2017, there were 340 million 4G subscribers in Europe, accounting for 33 per cent of the total mobile subscribers (excluding M2M). 4G connections overtook 3G in 2017 and is expected to reach 64 per cent of the total by 2023 in Europe. M2M will grow at a compound annual growth (CAGR) of 9 per cent during the forecast period of 2017-23, accounting for 17 per cent of the total, reaching 193 million connections, in 2023.

The roadmap sets ambitious targets:
launch several 5G pilot projects in a variety of regions, and host some of the world’s pioneer industrial 5G applications;
allocate new 5G frequencies and ensure a commercial rollout in at least one major city by 2020;
provide 5G coverage of the main transport routes by 2025.
It is built around four priority courses of action:
France’s 5G roadmap draws on the feedback the Government obtained from the consultation that ended in Q1 2018, and incorporates Arcep’s work programme. Four major courses of action were thus identified:

free up and allocate radio frequencies for 5G networks;
foster the development of new uses;
support the deployment of 5G infrastructures;
ensure transparency and dialogue over 5G rollouts and keep the public informed.
Working groups chaired by the concerned authorities and government departments are being created to identify expectations and undertake actions in the identified areas, under the aegis of the Directorate-General for Enterprise (DGE) and Arcep.

Alphabet has announced that Loon and Wing — two of its X moonshot projects — are “graduating” today to become full companies underneath the Alphabet corporate umbrella. The two companies will be classified as “Other Bets” within Alphabet, alongside former X projects like Waymo, Chronicle, and Verily.

While the official designation of the companies has changed, their work remains largely the same. Loon will continue to work on using balloons to bring internet to people around the world, and Wing will keep building delivery drones. Neither company had updates on those projects to go along with the announcement, but obviously Alphabet is happy with the pace of the work, given the promotions within.

Now, these two projects will be expected to function as real companies with an eye toward becoming successful businesses down the road, instead of merely incubating within X.

AT&T invested in Magic Leap, the startup that makes augmented reality (AR) headsets, and formed a partnership that makes the telecom giant the exclusive wireless distributor for the tech brand's products in the U.S., according to an announcement.
The companies didn't provide many details about AT&T's plans to distribute Magic Leap's products, which will be available this year. AT&T stores in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco will have its devices for consumers to test later in 2018.
The companies didn't disclose the financial terms of AT&T's investment in Magic Leap. The agreement completes Magic Leaps's latest fundraising round, which the company said in March totaled $963 million. The company has raised more than $2.3 billion and has been valued at more than $6 billion, per Bloomberg.